In a bid to appear more intelligent, more than 60 per cent of people have lied about reading classic novels. A leading research team polled 2,000 members of the British public to find out the tactics people employ to appear more intelligent, with some enlightening results.

The most popular ruse is pretending to have read classic novels, with 42 per cent of people relying on film and TV adaptations, or summaries found online, to feign knowledge of the novels. Surprisingly, half of the adults questioned admit to having displayed books on their shelves without ever having read them.

Other tactics employed by people to make themselves appear smarter include changing their appearance, correcting other people's grammar, dropping famous quotes into conversation and claiming a higher level of fluency in a foreign language.

The survey even found some regional differences among respondents. Those in the South West and West Midlands are the most likely to pretend they have read books that they haven't. While those residing in the North East are most likely to correct other people's grammar. However, they are also more likely to be lying about their own academic achievements, with 19 per cent inventing attainment levels compared with the national average of just 14 per cent.